Smith is a rising star of British boxing and will put his unbeaten record on the line against Tobias Webb in Cardiff on May 17th, on Sky Sports.

The 24-year-old Liverpudlian has won eight of his 10 fights inside the distance and victory over Webb will propel him further up the rankings.

Fellow super-middleweights Carl Froch and George Groves will settle their rivalry on May 31st, live on Sky Sports Box Office, and Hearn hopes Smith will soon be involved in major fights.

"We've fast tracked him to this point and we don't intend to slow down," said Hearn

"Tobias will bring something different, he'll show plenty of ambition and be backed by vociferous home support, but ultimately the plan is world honours for Callum.

"Quite rightly Callum looks at one fight at a time, but I look at the bigger picture which is ultimately to have Callum in the mega domestic super middleweight mix within 18 months."

But Smith is refusing to look past Webb, whose solitary defeat was in Prizefighter, and has title aspirations of his own.

"It was a fight that was mentioned for the Froch vs Kessler bill a year ago, so I think we've always been likely to fight sooner rather than later," said Smith.

"It's a good fight for me and I think that this will show what level I am at. My brother Paul was meant to fight him earlier in the year and he was disappointed that it didn't come off but that's boxing, these things work themselves out and now I get the chance to face him.

"Tobias is an ambitious guy and he will be coming to win, and I have said that fighting guys who believe they can beat me will bring the best out of me and we'll really see how good I am."

Smith's clash with Webb is part of a busy bill at the Motorpoint Arena which also features Lee Selby's WBC featherweight title eliminator against Romulu Koasicha.

Nathan Cleverly will make his cruiserweight debut in front of his Welsh fans, taking on Guyana's Shaun Corbin, while Gavin Rees bows out of the pro game with a rematch against Gary Buckland.